This Black-owned seafood food truck is opening a restaurant in a Louisville neighborhood

A seafood food truck is opening its first brick-and-mortar location in Fern Creek by Christmas.

Lameshia Cunningham, the owner of Sweet & Juicy Seafood food truck, plans to open the restaurant at 8402 Hudson Lane as soon as inspections are passed.

"It's perfect timing because my food truck just closed for the season," Cunningham said. "People don't really want to be out in the cold waiting for food."

The 1,600-square-foot restaurant has 52 seats and two main seating areas. Cunningham said all it really needs is some paint to be ready to open. She anticipates the restaurant to be a "casual setting with good food, nothing fancy."

Sweet & Juicy Seafood mainly serves Cajun-style seafood boils, including shrimp boils, crab boils, seafood platters and fried seafood dishes. There are three signature sauces: sweet Cajun, Cajun garlic, and spicy, and guests can add corn, potatoes, sausages, shrimp, or lobster to boils as they wish. In the restaurant, Cunningham will be adding on chicken boils, a burger or two, wings, and a seafood stuffed potato. Menu items range between $4 for appetizers to $50 for full platters.

"I wasn't even in the food industry originally," Cunningham said. "I worked for Jefferson County Public Schools and I had a salon. Me and my partner travel and try different seafood and I come back and make my own variations. One day after I posted a dish on Facebook, my son's barber asked if he could buy some. And then it became lots of people who wanted to order. It took off from there."

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Cunningham expanded from home orders to the food truck in 2019. Now the restaurant will offer more space and time to do what she loves. The food truck will remain in operation for special events.

"I love cooking. It doesn't even feel like a job to me," she said. "The fact people are paying me for it is kind of crazy."

Sweet & Juicy Seafood will be open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on weekends from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Reach food reporter Dahlia Ghabour at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Sweet & Juicy Seafood food truck is opening a restaurant in Louisville